Cape Town changes exam venues due to minibus taxi violence — TimesLIVE

In Cape Town, South Africa, due to shootings and violence linked to minibus taxis, many students were directed to alternative centres to sit their final exams. According to TimesLIVE, violence was reported in the areas of Delft, Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Mfuleni and Gugulethu. It disrupted public transport on the day of the English examination for the National Senior Certificate.

Alternative centres for students

The Western Cape Education Department activated safety mechanisms and warned examination centres across the metropolitan area to monitor the arrival of candidates. Centres were instructed to contact those who did not arrive and advise them to go to the nearest examination venue if security or transport circumstances prevented them from reaching their registered exam location.

Western Cape Education MEC Jaco Londt said that candidates who were late for reasons beyond their control could be admitted to the examination within one hour after it began.

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Shooting at a taxi rank

Delft police opened two cases of attempted murder and a case involving the discharge of a firearm after an incident involving minibus taxi drivers at the Palm rank at about 7:00 on Wednesday. According to police spokesperson Thembakazi Mpendukana, two adult men were injured and taken to hospital in a private vehicle. No arrests had been made at the time, and the investigation is ongoing.

City authorities temporarily closed the transport hub in Delft. Mayoral committee member for urban mobility Rob Quintas linked the escalation to long-standing disputes between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations over routes and operating rights. The current escalation concerns routes between Delft, Epping and Killarney.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said that city police were operating jointly with national police in Delft, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni and Gugulethu. The city also provided investigators with CCTV footage and other video surveillance resources, while the presence of law enforcement officers near transport hubs was increased.